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Snapshots: Vancouver, Michigan, CBA

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As hinted at by reports earlier today, Vancouver is officially out as a potential hub city for the NHL postseason. Once considered a favorite along side Las Vegas, the British Columbia metropolis nevertheless ended up as an underwhelming option in the eyes of the league. The club released a statement thanking those whose efforts went into Vancouver’s hub city campaign but acknowledging that they are out of the running. This result is believed to have stemmed from the Vancouver group’s inability to have a plan in place for responding to a positive COVID-19 test that would not lead to a stoppage in play. In Vancouver’s stead, Edmonton and Toronto are expected to receive more attention while Los Angeles and Chicago still remain in the running. By all accounts, Las Vegas has already secured its spot and just one city is left to be determined.

  • The University of Michigan has announced their 2020-21 recruiting class and, while all of these names have previously been revealed over the past few years, the talent involved warrants a reminder. The Wolverines are bringing in an elite group to Ann Arbor next season, headlined by a pair of potential 2020 first-round picks. Neither Thomas Bordeleau nor Brendan Brisson are guaranteed to be selected on Day One, the American forwards stand a good chance of earning a late-round selection. Fellow forward Philippe Lapointe, son of long-time NHLer Martin Lapointe, is also expected to be drafted at some point this year. Goaltender Erik Portillo has already gone through the draft process and landed at No. 67 to the Buffalo Sabres last year. The Swedish prospect may sit for a year, but will certainly start for Michigan at some point soon. Yet, what might be more exciting for Wolverine fans are not the past or present draft products, but the future. Hulking two-way defenseman Owen Power and super skilled center Kent Johnson round out the recruiting class as two of the top prospects available in the 2021 Draft. Michigan will groom them for a season before one or both very likely get the chance to bolt for the NHL in 2021-22.
  • Comments made by New York Rangers superstar Artemi Panarin have brought the escrow issue back to the forefront of NHL labor relations as the league and players’ association continue to work toward a CBA extension. Panarin went so far as to say that players should not report to Phase 3 training camps without a new deal in place that corrects the current escrow crisis. The two side are indeed making progress in CBA talks and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that escrow terms may even be close to complete. Friedman notes relays that a plan is in place that would cap escrow at 20% for the 2020-21 season, but would include a one-season-only 10 per cent salary deferral, protecting owners in the short term while returning money to the players down the road. As part of the agreement though, the salary cap could remain stagnant at the current $81.5MM upper limit for the next three seasons with the potential for it to potentially go up in 2022-23.
  • The New York Post’s Larry Brooks reports that these CBA terms could be packaged with the Return to Play Plan in a vote facing every member of the NHLPA. While recent player movement, especially out of Europe, and participation in voluntary activities would indicate that the players are on board with the proposed Return to Play plan, there is no indication of their feeling on the current escrow and salary cap issues and how that might impact the ability for both key policies to receive a majority vote.

Snapshots: Hub Favorites, Phase 2, Postseason Rules

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Six cities remain in the hunt as potential hub locations for when the NHL returns to play. As things stand right now, Vegas and either Vancouver or Edmonton are the frontrunners, per The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun. Toronto, Chicago, and Los Angeles remain outside contenders – but they are still very much in the hunt. Of course, Vegas, Vancouver, and Edmonton are all in the Western Conference, meaning one of the Golden Knights, Canucks, or Oilers would play their games at home – should LeBrun’s hunch prove correct. The NHL isn’t overly concerned, per LeBrun, because without fans present, the games would still qualify as technically neutrally located, even though whichever team does stay home would enjoy a certain amount of comfort in their home building. Finding the best, safest fit to house 12 teams at a time is the priority for now, over maintaining a perfect degree of parity. Let’s check in on the other tidbits of news that have eeked out over the last few hours concerning the NHL’s return to play…

  • Phase 2 takes another step forward tomorrow, allowing for up to 12 skaters to share the ice at a time during workouts, tweets Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston. Only six skaters had been allowed at a time up until now. A successful expansion could prove a crucial development given the recent rash of COVID-19 cases popping up across the sports landscape.
  • We also now know – thanks to NHL deputy commissioner Billy Daly – that each of the 24 participating teams will play one or two exhibition games prior to the round-robin and play-in phases of the NHL postseason, per Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer. That’s not a ton of ice time to ready the troops, but with such a small window of viability, it makes sense to limit player exposure prior to any games of consequence.
  • In a more logistical matter, the NHL and Players’ Association have agreed to extend contracts and visas for players whose contracts were going to expire on June 30th, tweets CapFriendly. That’s not to indicate a more comprehensive agreement between the two sides, as will be required before the NHL officially returns to play. The matter of expiring contracts appears to have been agreed upon as a solitary issue.
  • Teams will have 30 players available for July 10 training camps, with playoff rosters trimmed to 28, per Ben Kuzma of Postmedia Sports. For camp and the playoffs, teams will be granted an unlimited number of goalies. Being as only 6 members of each team have been allowed to share the ice at a time through today, the scope of the NHL’s undertaking will clearly require heavy-lifting from logistics and operations departments.

Columbus, Minnesota Out As Potential Hub City

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The Columbus Blue Jackets were informed today that they will not play host to the NHL’s 24-team playoff reboot of the 2019-2020 season, tweets Blue Jackets’ reporter Jeff Svoboda. Minnesota has also been eliminated from consideration, per The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline and Michael Russo (via Twitter).

Columbus had been one of ten cities under consideration to host the remainder of the NHL season. With two arenas to utilize, there was at least some logistical cause for Columbus to merit serious consideration. There was no reason given for their elimination, so it’s hard to know at this time what the thinking was behind the process.

Las Vegas is believed to be a frontrunner for one of the two spots. It’s widely believed that Canada would house the other hub, though where exactly has remained up for debate. If indeed Vegas does take one of the spots, that could be reason enough for Columbus to fall out of the running. It’s been widely assumed that one hub city would be in the United States and one in Canada.

Portzline provides a quote from Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekäläinen, who said: “They had a lot of positives about our presentation, but they’ve gone in a different direction. It’s disappointing, but we were also among the last few cities to be considered. You take the positives along with the disappointment and you move on.

There is a decent chance that the final decision on hub cities will be announced this week, and perhaps even as early as today. Presumably, the NHL will not want to make their decision public until the logistics are worked out and finalized. That could still happen today, though that’s not a guarantee.

For now, what we know for certain is that Columbus and Minnesota are out. Per Russo, Vegas, Chicago, and Los Angeles are thought to be frontrunners on the U.S. front, while Edmonton, Toronto, and Vancouver are the likeliest hub cities north of the border.

Chris Thorburn Officially Retires From NHL

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It’s been more than two years since Chris Thorburn played meaningful minutes in an NHL game, but the veteran forward is officially hanging up his skates, per Sean O’Leary of The Score. The NHLPA sent along their congratulations to Thorburn via Twitter.

Thorburn, 37, got to go out in style, winning the Stanley Cup in his second year with the St. Louis Blues in 2019. The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford chronicled Thorburn’s final season when he spent most of the year mentoring younger players for the Blues’ AHL affiliate. The longtime enforcer appeared in 50 games for the Blues in 2017-2018 for 7:02 ATOI as a 34-year-old, finishing the year with seven points.

The veteran winger was never an All-Star, topping out usage-wise with 13:48 ATOI during the Thrashers final season in Atlanta (2010-2011). He nonetheless carved out a role as a professional skater for 14 seasons. After Buffalo made him the 50th overall selection of the 2001 entry draft, Thorburn suited up for the Sabres, Penguins, Thrashers/Jets, and Blues, totalling 53 goals and 134 points.

Poll: Should NHL Start The Season On Jan. 1 From Now On?

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It’s been talked about quite a bit over the last three weeks that with the NHL expected to start the playoffs in early August (now revealed to be July 30). That means that the Stanley Cup is likely to be awarded in early October, which means that the offseason and draft would occur in mid-October before training camp for the 2020-21 season would begin in December. That would set the NHL to begin its season with the Winter Classic on Jan. 1, 2021.

That might seem strange, but what choice does the league have? However, there is little to no conversation of making the 2020-21 season (or the 2021 season) shorter to return back to the league’s standard schedule. Instead, there has been some chatter in which many have suggested the NHL might be better off permanently starting their season on Jan. 1.

In an article earlier this month, The Athletic’s James Mirtle (subscription required writes there definitely are some advantages to moving their season until January. First and foremost, the NHL has quite a bit of competition in the first half of the season, competing against the NFL, college football as well as the NBA. A January start would avoid quite a bit of that competition, while moving the playoffs into July and August would allow the team to play in the summer, often a slower time of the year for sports with the exception of baseball. On top of that, many teams see an increase in gate attendance after Feb. 1, suggesting it could be financially beneficial to many teams to move the start date.

Of course, there are other questions that could arise as well, meaning ice conditions may not be as good as teams get deeper into the summer, while there are questions whether people would really follow hockey in the deep summer. Players also may not want to change their permanent schedules and play deep into the summer, while many fans would still prefer to keep to their traditional October to June schedule. There is always some middle ground though with others suggesting that moving the season up to a November start date might make some sense as well.

So, the question is, should the NHL begin the season on Jan. 1 permanently each season?

Pro Hockey app users, click here to vote.

Stanley Cup Tournament Play Expected To Start July 30

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With Phase 3 expected to continue despite recent setbacks, the NHL sent out a directive to teams Friday, following its general manager meetings in which it outlined that the Stanley Cup tournament qualifying rounds will begin on July 30 in hub cities that are expected to be chosen within a week, according to the New York Post’s Larry Brooks.

The dates have been agreed upon in negotiations between the NHL and NHLPA, but still must be officially agreed upon with included protocols for health and safety and a potential extension of the CBA.

That adds another date to the NHL calendar as the league had already announced that training camp would begin on July 10 and is expected to last two weeks. Teams are then expected to travel to their respective hub city on July 23 or 24 and play in one exhibition match before going into the best-of-five qualifying round or top-four seeding round-robin matchups.

Brooks also notes that the current plan would have NHL teams having 30 skaters on their roster with an unlimited number of goalies.

TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that the NHL has now officially narrowed its list of hub cities down to six from their original 10 and includes at least three Canadian cities, including Vancouver, Edmonton and Toronto with Vegas being one of the other cities on the list. LeBrun adds that he believes that Vancouver and Edmonton are ahead of Toronto and there is a likelihood that both hub cities could reside on the West Coast. Vegas remains one of the leading candidates due to its large hotel space.

LeBrun confirms that the league expects to make a decision on hub cities by the end of this week. The decision does need to come quickly as the league then must negotiate with each city before things can truly be official.

NHL Will Not Change Phase 3 Start Date In Response To Positive COVID Tests

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It was a rude awakening for the NHL yesterday. With Phase 2 voluntary workouts underway and excitement finally starting to build toward resuming the 2019-20 season later this summer, it seemed like everything might come to a screeching halt following yesterday’s revelation that 11 players had tested positive for Coronavirus, including Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews, since workouts began on June 8. Additionally, the Tampa Bay Lightning had to shut down their arena and stop all workouts with three players and two staff members among the many new COVID cases in the state of Florida. The NHL shut down in the first place in part to avoid the spread of the virus among its players and staff, but the early signs show that re-starting the league this soon might not be possible if this remains a key objective.

Not so fast though, says the league. Michael Russo and James Mirtle of The Athletic released an in-depth piece earlier today that details the many concerns that player and other stakeholders have with the NHL’s plans to resume play, especially following the positive test confirmed yesterday. Yet, the most important piece of the article is this: the NHL is not considering delaying the start of Phase 3 at this time. The next stage in the league’s plan to return to play is to open training camps on July 10, just under three weeks from now. This would set up the start of the expanded postseason for early August, a timeline that the league hopes would allow them to complete the season, take time off for the off-season, and begin the 2020-21 campaign before the start of the new year. As of right now, 11 positive COVID tests are not enough for the NHL to slow their plan of attack.

Of course, the one caveat to all of these plans is that the players have not yet agreed to the terms of the return to play plan. While the NHL and NHLPA have worked together to approve a potential format that the majority of teams and players felt was fair, there still needs to be a formal vote in which the players agree to return from the league’s pause. With positive cases on the rise, concerns over the conditions related to returning to play, and some players still struggling with simply returning to their teams, all well detailed by Russo and Mirtle, a “yes” vote may not be as easy as it once seemed.

11 NHL Players Test Positive For COVID-19

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It has been a harrowing day throughout North American professional sports with plenty of positive tests being identified, including in the NHL.  The league released the following statement through their PR account on Twitter providing an update on their testing situation:

Since NHL Clubs were permitted to open their training facilities on June 8, all Players entering these facilities for voluntary training have been subject to mandatory testing for COVID-19.  Through today, in excess of 200 Players have undergone multiple testing.  A total of 11 of these Players have tested positive.  All Players who have tested positive have been self-isolated and are following CDC and Health Canada protocols.  The NHL will provide a weekly update on the number of tests administered to Players and the results of those tests.  The League will not be providing information on the identity of the Players or their Clubs.

The current protocol is that players are tested once upon arriving in their club city and must test negative before they can take to the ice.  Once that happened, they are tested a minimum of two times per week after that.

The league is currently in its second phase out of four in its Return to Play protocol with the third stage being the beginning of training camps and the fourth being the beginning of the play-in round or for the top four teams in each conference, a set of round robin games to determine postseason seeding.  As things stand, it’s only in that final stage that full quarantining rules will be in effect.  However, the final protocols are still being negotiated between the NHL and the NHLPA.

Kevan Miller Not Considering Retirement

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Kevan Miller is a free agent at the end of the season, but despite being out due to injury since April of 2019, the 32-year-old defender isn’t ready to pack it in, per Amalie Benjamin of NHL.com.

Miller, currently employed by the Boston Bruins, went under the knife for the fourth time with the most recent procedure on his kneecap. With all that he’s been through, a return to the ice would be a remarkable story. Signed originally by the Bruins six years ago as an undrafted free agent, Miller made a role for himself in Boston – when healthy. The Bruins missed Miller’s presence in the Stanley Cup Final last year, writes Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports, and if he’s able to get himself back on the ice, he could be helpful to a team again.

Still, given the financial implications of the pandemic and Miller’s long history of knee troubles, it would be surprising to see Miller drum up much interest in free agency. That said, there’s absolutely a team out there that should be willing to give him a look – especially at the price point that he’s likely to command. Step one, however, will be for Miller to finish his rehab and get back to life as usual.

Miller had to fight his way onto an NHL team, and that kind of grit extended onto the ice where he’s succeeded as a physical, bruising defender. But that’s the kind of player he is, writes The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa. The intensity is a double-edged sword, helping Miller fight to make himself a role on the ice, while playing a role in the injuries that have kept him from it. Shinzawa provided a quote from Miller, commenting on his style of play: “I don’t have another identity, to be honest with you, especially on the ice. That’s who I am. Who I am on the ice is who I am off the ice. Maybe a little softer off the ice. That’s my bread and butter. I don’t think I’m going to go out there and score 50 goals.”

Nashville Goalies Prepare To Face Off

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The Nashville Predators are mentally preparing to take on the Arizona Coyotes in their Stanley Cup Qualilfier whenever play resumes, a matchup that would presumably paint the Preds (.565 winning percentage) as favorites over the Coyotes (.529 winning percentage). Before that matchup, however, the Predators have to decide on a lead netminder for the five-game series. Both rostered goaltenders will get an equal shake at nabbing the top spot, per NHL.com’s Mike G. Morreale. One of Pekka Rinne or Juuse Saros will start the series against the Coyotes in the net, but it’s going to depend on who is the most ready.

Based on resume alone, Rinne would be the easy choice. He’s anchored the Predators defense since 2008-2009, won the Vezina Trophy just two seasons ago, and the 37-year-old is 21st all-time with 2.42 Goals Against Average.

But in the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately department, Saros might have the edge. The 24-year-old started a career-high 34 games this season while registering a .914 save percentage. By contrast, Rinne got the starting nod in 35 games but managed just a .895 save percentage. There are a couple of teams facing this brand of a changing of the guard in goal – the Golden Knights and Capitals, for example – and the decision is a peculiar one for these clubs.

Rinne has the track record, without a doubt, and Saros could very well be the goaltender of the future, but the task at hand for the Predators is deciding who will be more ready for playoff action under these peculiar circumstances. It might be that the younger Saros will be able to get his body up to speed faster. Or it could be that the veteran Rinne is more capable of handling the mental challenge of maintaining focus amid a global pandemic. It’ll be up to the Predators’ brain trust to decide.

Morreale provides this quote from Nashville coach John Hynes: “It’s a different thing for players now; they’ve got to leave their families, go to a hub city. Families aren’t going to be part of it. You’re not coming home after games, so this is all about the team, it’s all about the Nashville Predators and playing for the guy next to you. It’s also playing for their families and how do we incorporate this to commit to the level you need to commit to win in the playoffs.”

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